Quick VolksWorld 2011 update

Just back from the show where my 62 won one of the top 20 car prizes and where best in show was won by the amazing CSP drag racer. A big thanks to Ivan, Adrian and all the team at VolksWorld for a fantastic show; it was amazing to win an award at a show that is predominately focused on the custom scene and which is full of cars of such a high quality and finish that they take your breath away.
There were 7 T34s present, both Clive and Janet Richardson had their cars present, Steve Wright's car was there, Mark Poulton had his restored 68, resplendid in marathon Blue\dark blue with marathon wheels to give a take on what a car might have looked like if production had continued through to 1972. Mike and Dee Shaws car was also present along with my 62 and of course the CSP car.
Clive's car was used as a photo opportunity for show attendees who wanted to celebrate 50 years of the T3\34 by having their photo taken in the car. My car was featured on a revolving stand as part of the celebration of 50 years of the Type 3 model range with 2 other amazing T3s and also set amongst a collection of other fantastic T3s including Mark Poulton's car. More in a few days and here are a few photos meantime.

Engine problem progress

I might have found the problem with the car. I was doing a compare and contrast between my NOS carb which I fitted during the rebuild and the one that came with the replacement engine and which I removed at the rebuild but have now refitted to the car.
In the lower half of the carb casing there is a drilling in the side wall that feeds fuel from the accelerator pump to the top half of the casing and onward to the various venturi. Missing from this was a small brass plunger that presumably amplifies and\ or regulates the flow of fuel through the drilling. Presumably its absence could have led to flooding of the carb and its' cutting out; Paul Medhurst at Type 3 Detectives has confirmed could be possible.
I have taken the brass plunger out of another carb and it has now been re-tuned following which the engine seems to be going OK when really warm but still stationary without any load.
Here is a picture of the NOS carb showing the brass plunger resting outside of the drilling in the top right hand corner.
I won't be able to test drive it until Thursday now and so I have a neighbour on stand by to get the car to the VolksWorld show by trailer on Friday if I have further problems. I don't like having a trailer queen for a car but having committed to get it to the show that's what I'll have to do.

The Bad, Good, Bad news - Engine problems

The engine in the 62 has never run as smoothly as I would have liked. I have spent hours resetting timing, tappets etc and still it feels lumpy and juddery once warmed up. My friend who built the engine with me came around yesterday and we logically went through tappets, timing, points etc but it made little difference. We concluded the problem lay on the fuel side and so today, one at a time, I replaced the fuel cut off valve, fuel pump and then all that was left was the NOS carb that I fitted.
I dug out the original carb for the engine, took off all the crud from the outside and then stripped it and cleaned every part of it. As soon as I put it on the car and started it then the car sounded as I would expect it to with no uneven running. It was smoking heavily so I rest the idle and volume settings and the rich running and smoking disappeared.
I took the car out for a quick spin, what a transformation - it ran like a train all the way to the next village, I turned around to come back and then 150 yards away from home the engine just died. I managed to get it around the corner into our road and could not get it to restart.
After fiddling with it for over an hour and changing the wire from the coil to the points as it had a crack it it (desparation as there was spark at the points!) I managed to get it going again and into the garage. It started OK later on but I have no confidence in it and have a journey to make on Friday morning around one of the UK's busiest stretches of motorway to the VolksWorld show where it is due to be on display.
Potential culprit at the moment if it remains as a fuel problem will definately be the carb as I swapped back the fuel pump\cut off jet and so could be:
- May be the accelerator pump - I'll strip the top off the NOS carb and look at how much fuel it pumps up through the drilling compared to the one on the car and change the diaphram if needs be.
- The float needle valve - I put in what looked to be a good free moving one when I rebuilt the carb as the original was sticking but it was also stuck shut when I took it apart again - only problem is the carb was full of fuel so it is unlikely to be the problem. It's an easy change so I will do it anyway.
- probably crap adjustment of the idle\volume screw settings by me, although I followed the VW manual for the settings.
Anyway, keep your fingers crossed as I don't want to let the guys at VolksWorld down and have already found a trailer in case I have to resort to that to get it to the show.

The Good News - paint roof problems

I got the cat back from Frankie's paint shop on Thursday Morning and the roof looks great - big thanks to Frankie & Lee.
The roof trims went back on easily and I inserted a little dumdum paste into each trim to make up for the missing thin rubbers that usually assist with their rattle free fitment.

Chris Leonard

Chris - If you are reading my posts then just to let you know I can't respond to comments left in the guest book and you didn't leave any direct contact details so I can help you re the T34 Register. Leave me a comment against this post with your contact details and I will come back to you and put you in touch with the T34 Register and T34 World\James Kramer who is one of the Australian t34 reps.

Roof paint problems

About 6 months ago a crack appeared in the paint on the roof by the gutter at the rear of the passenger side.
Unfortunately Brackley Paint who did the paint work have now changed hands but the good news is that Frankie who worked there and knows the car well now runs his own paint and bodyshop. I took the car into Frankie's body shop today after removing the gutter trims and we popped out the rear screen. The roof will be repaired and resprayed ready for me to collect and bring home on Thursday morning, ready for prepping for next week's Sandown Park VolksWorld show. Here's a link to Frankie's website.

http://www.frankiespaintshop.co.uk/

Spring has arrived - hopefully

With some decent weather over the last few days I took the opportunity to check and reset the timing and valve clearances on the engine. The car ran very well for the first few miles, better in fact than ever. After a few miles I could smell oil; it turned out to be a split in the oil dip stick rubber bellows and oil was coming out in minute quantities and dripping on to the exhaust - easily solved with a new rubber boot.
On the way back after identying the oil leak it was running a little lumpy so may need to check the carb settings next.